An account has been set up and a fundraiser is planned for this weekend to help the family of Rachel English, 7, who has just arrived home from the hospital after being treated for pneumococcal meningitis.

The fundraiser will take the form of a gospel singing at First Works Church, led by the English Family with other local singers, at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20. The money will be used to help defray transportation and daily household costs for her parents Jonathan and Jessica English and her three siblings.

There is an account set up at United Bank for the purpose entitled To the Benefit of Rachel English.

English’s case is not related to the fungal meningitis cases caused by a batch of unsterile steroid compounds that have triggered hundreds of cases in 15 states. Instead, she caught it from direct contact with the bacteria. She fell ill last Friday, Oct. 12, after returning home from the private Christian school she attends in Jackson. People who may have been exposed to her are being notified, though doctors have said she is not contagious.

“Just out of the blue she got sick and began complaining of fever, back and head pains while the family was cooking supper,” said family friend Miriam Mauldin. “Her parents immediately took her to the emergency room in Monroe County, where there’s pediatric care. From there she was transported to Macon. A spinal tap confirmed the meningitis is one of the most dangerous, but they caught it in time.”

After rallying on Tuesday, Rachel fell ill again when her antibiotics were decreased and the medicines were restored.

“Jonathan and Jessica can’t work while she’s sick and there are expenses they need to take care of,” said Mauldin. “They’re trying to keep life as normal as possible for their other three children, ages 10, 5 and 3.”*